Sands' game talks

Courtney Sands lets her game do the talking for her, and that's just the way she likes it.

THOMAS DUGGAN

Published 12:00 am, Monday, October 21, 2002

The starting center midfielder on the Mercy girls soccer team and three sport athlete, this senior captain is looking to cap a brilliant high school athletic career. Yet it would be difficult to get Sands to acknowledge it.

"She's so humble," Tiger soccer coach Lauren Brown said of her star player. "She's just a great kid."

Sands does so many things well on the soccer field, that it's tough to pinpoint the strongest aspect of her game. Brown thinks it's more than the something tangible that makes Sands the special player that she is.

"It's her tenacity and grace on the field. It's her quickness and speed, especially in terms of anticipation, that makes her so good," Brown said. "She does it in a way that she positions herself well and always gets to the ball first."

It was her versatility that landed Sands the center midfield position as a sophomore, a position she has reveled in since.

"Courtney holds the midfield very well," Brown said. "And that's what we need her to do."

Even though she feels it may not be Sands natural position, Brown feels most comfortable with Sands in the strategic spot.

Brown thinks that Sands is likely a natural defender, and that those defensive instincts and ability help her as a halfback.

"Courtney plays a very nice defensive game," Brown said. "She always get back when we need her."

Perhaps most overlooked is Sands' speed on the field. A track participant in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, Sands is the captain elect for the indoor track and field squad.

As a junior Sands set the school record in the 55 meter dash, demonstrating she is fast on the track as well as on the field.

"Running really helps me a lot in soccer," Sands said. "Especially getting to the ball quickly and running back on defense. It helps a lot."

And although the track season is time consuming, Sands still manages to play on both a local premier team and on the state sponsored Olympic Development Program.

"I played last year," Sands said of the ODP. "It's another team to play on, getting in some more tournaments and games."

Playing year round is a big part of what has helped Sands develop into a player that is attracting a lot of Division I college coaches.

"I'm looking at UConn, BU, Quinnipiac, Siena and Marist," Sands said of her top college choices.

She knows the transition to the next level will be a challenging one, but thinks she'll be ready for the step up.

"It's going to be hard," Sands said with a laugh. "I'm nervous. I hope if I work at it I'll be fine. I'm definitely going to try and work on my skills. Work on balls in the air, and improve my overall game."

For the time being, however, Sands is focused solely on her final fall season at Mercy. She has lofty goals for both the team and herself, but is very modest about it all.

"I definitely want to make All-State again," Sands said. "We also want to win our conference and get as far as we can in the states. It's going to be tough, we're going to need to get psyched up."

In the end, Sands knows her play on the field is louder than her words will ever be.